Hello from CNN, I'm Joe Beck.

With the five things you need to know for Thursday, July 25th.

President Joe Biden spoke from the Oval Office last night, explaining his decision to end his re-election campaign.

Nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy.

That includes personal ambition.

So I've decided the best way forward is the past the torch to a new generation.

That's the best way to unite our nation.

That torch is going to Vice President Carmelah Harris, who Biden described as tough and capable.

I know there is a time and a place for a long years of experience in public life.

There's also a time and a place for new

voices, fresh voices, yes younger voices, and that time and places now.

Biden will be staying in office until the end of his term and is promised to keep campaigning for Harris in the lead up to November's election.

He said he believed his record merited a second term but was stepping aside for the good of the country.

CNN polling released yesterday suggests it's neck and neck in a match-up between Harris and

former President Donald Trump. And Harris is facing a big test today as she meets with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

It's an opportunity for the Vice President to take her own stance on Israel's war in Gaza.

Harris skipped Netanyahu's address to Congress yesterday,

along with about 80 other Democrats.

Her husband, Doug Emhoff, spoke to a group from the Jewish Democratic Council of America.

Let me just make this clear. Vice President Harris has been and will be a strong

supporter of Israel as a secure democratic and Jewish state and she will

always ensure that Israel can defend itself period. That's who Kamla Harris is.

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